Numerous utility meters, such as gas and water meters, are deployed that include battery-powered communication modules. The batteries in these meters may vary in usable life, but may last for up to 20 years. This is primarily achieved through the use of efficient energy-storage batteries, as well as by minimizing the power consumption of the communications module (radio). In order to minimize power consumption, the radio may spend most of its time in a low-power “sleep” mode, waking up on some periodic basis to communicate any data with its network and then returning to sleep.
Promptly replacing exhausted batteries in numerous such devices deployed in operation is a time-consuming and difficult task. Increasing the accuracy and the amount of advance notice given in predicting a low capacity condition for the batteries in these metering devices can produce significant savings in time and money for utility operators by reducing downtime and allowing for efficient scheduling of battery replacement.